News

INEOS completes acquisition of Seal Sands site (UK) from BASF

Following clearance from the European Commission on 1st August 2008, INEOS Nitriles has today successfully completed its agreement to purchase the Seal Sands site on Teesside (UK) from BASF plc, a subsidiary of the German chemical company BASF. The acquisition includes a 230,000 tonne acrylonitrile (AN) plant .

“We are pleased that the acquisition of the Seal Sands site has now completed so that we can begin to integrate the facility into our business. INEOS Nitriles has a strong commitment to its customers and this acquisition will support their plans for growth,” said Rob Nevin, INEOS Nitriles CEO.

The newly acquired site fits well with INEOS Nitriles capabilities and expertise in Acrylonitrile and associated businesses.

INEOS Nitriles is the only Acrylonitrile producer with capacity in the Americas and Europe with facilities at Lima, Ohio (US), Green Lake, Texas (US) and Köln (Germany). Following this acquisition the business will employ around 500 people and will have a turnover of around $2.3 bn (£1150m). Key applications for Acrylonitrile include the production of ABS, Polyacrylamide, synthetic fibres (such as acrylic, nylon and carbon), engineering plastics, synthetic rubber and resins. These products are used in a diverse range of end industries, including the textile, automotive, building construction, household appliance and electronic equipment, sporting goods, and water treatment.

INEOS is the world’s third largest chemicals company; a leading manufacturer of petrochemicals, specialty chemicals and oil products. Comprising 18 businesses, with production network spanning 70 manufacturing facilities in 14 countries, the company produces more than 40 million tonnes of petrochemicals, 20 million tonnes per annum of crude oil refined products (fuels). INEOS employs 16,000 people and has sales of around $44bn.

More than 90% of Acrylonitrile produced globally uses INEOS Technology. Our leadership in this product is based on our technological know-how and manufacturing capability. The chances are that acrylonitrile touches everyone in some way, every day.